Page 25 - Black Velvet Issue 85

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othing More tackle a lot of political, get richer, and that was it. It was just a state- wasn’t really what was good for them. So it
Nsociological and religious subjects ment about reality, it wasn’t anything hopeful related back to that, but that whole concept
in their songs, for example, ‘God Went North’ so it caught my attention one day and it I was like yeah it’s true, it’s like if you give
and ‘The Matthew Effect’. “‘The Matthew Ef- made so much sense as time went on in my five bucks to somebody, and then they lose
fect’ is like most of the other stuff on our own life or people like my sister for instance, it, the next time they ask you to borrow
record, there’s a lot of biblical metaphors who is just one of those people that are un- money again you’ll give them a second
and concepts that are in there because that’s fortunately, whether it’s a fault of them or chance, and then they’ll squander it again
what we grew up in.” their environment or who knows what it is, and at some point you’re like “Alright, you’re
The phrase 'The Matthew Effect' refers to but they end up only knowing how to exist the kind of person who loses money”. Peo-
the sociology concept of 'the rich get richer by leeching off other people.” ple that like, you can give them the world and
and the poor get poorer’. Jonny says, “It Jonny wrote about his sister in the self- they will somehow ruin it. I’ve seen it and it’s
comes from a verse in the gospels where titled album. The song 'Jenny' tells her story sad to watch. Have you ever heard that old
Jesus said something… or whoever it is that and how she lives. He explains, “It kind of myth… it’s a Greek myth, I think… ‘every-
wrote it down, they wrote this really weird broke my heart but at the same time angered thing he touches turns to gold’? It’s the other
line that doesn’t sound like anything else in me to see her take advantage of people just way. Everything they touch turns to death
there, it’s not like ‘do good to others’ or, you like a junkie to get what she needed to get. and it’s a real thing and I’ve seen it first
know the typical thing you would think a There were a few other people in my life that hand.”
Jesus figure would say. It said ‘those who were like that and I would see them manipu- When tackling and talking about such
have will be given, those who do not have, late situations to get what they wanted when important topics in your music, it can help to
even what they do have will be taken away in reality, they were just contributing to their have the same views and ideologies as your
from them’. So it’s this really brutal line like own spiralling down. They were just making band mates. Jonny says. “We’ve had kind of
the poor are fucked and the rich are going to it happen faster because what they wanted a long history of when we would be on the
road and just be driving late at
night, our conversations would
always end up turning into some-
thing deep and philosophical or
socially challenging or just kind
of talk of revolution or just things
that felt meaningful. We’re all
people that get tired of small talk,
you know? There are so many
people you can hang out with
and it’s like, wow, I’ve spent
hours with that person and I
don’t feel like we talked about
anything meaningful.
“At the end of the day I like
being around people who talk
about shit that actually means
something and with us we’ve al-
ways just talked about those
things and then they turn into
songs.”
ollowing the release of the
Falbum, Nothing More have
had a busy touring schedule.
They've been from Europe to
Australia to Japan in the past few
months. We end by asking Jonny
what he does when he gets a
spare moment to himself during
all of this crazy touring. “I like
learning about MMA and mixed
martial arts and stuff. I’m real in-
terested in that, but I still love TV
shows. I love getting lost in a
good series. Like Breaking Bad
or… I don’t know what TV shows
are popular over here, but I get
real into Dexter and The Walking
Dead. Well, The Walking Dead is
more like eating salty chips
though, not that it’s that great, as
much as I can’t not watch it be-
cause I want to see what happens
next! It’s like “Argh, I’ll just have
one more chip” then you're like,
“Argh, I’ll get another one!”
Nothing More’s concerts are
very similar. Once you’ve seen
them once you’ll want to keep
going back for more. And more...
of Nothing More.
Visit www.nothingmore.net
for more info.

Words by Carissa Thorne
Photos By Jodie Cunningham
NOTHING MORE